The Story of Rachel Cross
by cloud cult
Summary: "I met Fred Weasley completely by coincidence. How was I supposed to know that the day he and his twin George stepped into the cafe that I worked at my life would change forever?"
1. Chapter 1

I met Fred Weasley completely by coincidence. How was I supposed to know that the day he and his twin George stepped into the cafe that I worked at my life would change forever?

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that dramatic. It took awhile for me to even realize that he was, well, different than the rest of us.

The day we met was April Fool's day - ironic, isn't it? I was seventeen then (I wouldn't become an adult until May 12, the day I was anticipating), at work only because I had worked hard and graduated early. I lived only with my sister Elizabeth, who was at University to become a nurse. I kept telling myself that I would go myself once I saved up enough money, but the way things were going...

I was late that day, when I arrived at work I had hastily donned my uniform (a short green apron and a name tag) before my boss Lydia would find out that I was indeed late for the third day in a row. One of my older coworkers, Amanda, a girl about twenty, had covered for me.

"Just don't do it again!" she said testily as I was rushing out of the kitchen.

Fred later told me that he and George had come to the small restaurant to sample some "Muggle food". They had been having good luck with their joke shop and wanted to celebrate differently for a change.

Needless to say, when I brought them their orders (black coffee, a bad idea from the start), their reactions were explosive. Literally. George took one sip and then spit it back into his cup. Fred's was more theatrical, in the way that the coffee ended up on the front of the new blouse I had bought the day before.

"Blimey," George had commented, "What is this rubbish?"

Somewhat chagrined I replied, "You've never had coffee before, have you?"

"No." Fred said, "We don't usually eat Muggle- er, _this_ kind of food."

They spent the rest of the day in the cafe - still feeling adventurous - sampling different drinks and confections. I had fun too, I have to admit, watching their reactions (and making sure to keep out of spitting range when it happened) and suggesting new things to try.

My life had seemed so serious since my mother died, it was nice to laugh for once. I felt like I wanted to be around them more.

They came back the next week, having figured out their favorites. And the week after that. Soon they had become regulars. It wasn't long until Fred began to come on his own sometimes, and then more often. It was around that time that we began to talk more, not about anything important really, but it was still one of the best parts of my week. He told me about his family - large, and obviously close besides one estranged brother - which was such a contrast to what I had. We talked about school, at least, somewhat. I felt like I knew him more everyday.

"Tell me," I said once, during one of our conversations, "What do you and George do for a living that allows you to have so much free time?" This was his third time to come visit that week.

Fred grinned. "We own a joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to be exact."

I brightened. When I was younger, back when my parents were still alive, my father used to take me to stores like that. Although he worked in an office, he really loved magic tricks, especially card tricks. I inherited his obsession. "Really? Do you sell magic tricks?"

He snickered, but I didn't know why at the time. I suppose I thought it was because my comment had been so obvious. "Yes, of a sort."

This friendship between us continued, until it was outside of my work. Often, he began to walk me home. Sometimes he would ask me to show him a different part of London (he had never really explored it, he said). I found it odd that I had to explain to him how to travel using the Underground, even though he was a fast learner and picked it up pretty fast. Another time I took him to a movie. It was fun. Ever since I had left school early I hadn't been able to see my friends as much as they went on to University and moved away. Although I still kept in touch with a few of them, it still couldn't be compared to seeing people in real life.

It was at that point, that I had begun to change. My usually serious (and somber, as Amanda had told me once - jokingly, but still) demeanor had softened. I actually found myself laughing along with Fred and George most of the time.

Even Elizabeth noticed this change in me. "You seem... different." she told me one morning, before leaving to go to school, "Happier. I like it." She smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth. Elizabeth had always been the beautiful one between us, with long blond hair and pretty hazel eyes, looking like our mum. I, however, had inherited our father's dark hair, which I usually just kept almost touching my shoulders. My eyes, which were hazel too, didn't seem to work the same way that Elizabeth's do.

I returned her smile, Elizabeth always had that effect on me. "Thanks, Liz, now you really need to leave, you don't want to be late again." Hypocritical, I know.

I can't say exactly how Fred and I got together. I suppose we just grew together during our outings, and conversations. I can't say I really thought of him like that initially, he and George were merely two friendly twins with a great sense of humor, that I loved to be around.

We had been good friends for about two months (it seemed longer) - it was now early June. Fred and I had been walking along the street, just walking and discussing things. I had noticed that he had been withholding certain things when we spoke.

There is, however, one detail that I may have skipped. The one about me learning what he truly was - a wizard.

I was headed home late from work one day, it was dark, but I thought that since I lived so close to the cafe that there wouldn't be any danger.

How wrong I was.

I can't say how these sort of things find me. I mean, I haven't met many other girls my age who can say they've met wizards (even though I was unaware of it at the time)- that they even know magic is real. I also don't know anyone who has gotten into some sort of freak accident involving magic.

Well, maybe it wasn't an accident. But it was coincidental that one of the bad wizards - the ones that hate non-magical people like me - happened to be out at night at the same time that I was walking home. In the dark.

I had never been charmed in my life, so it came as a surprise when I found myself on the ground after turning a street corner, unable to wrench my arms from the side of my body, or move my legs or head, for that matter.

_What's going on? _I wondered, beginning to panic, _am I having a stroke or something?_

Sadly, I was not well-versed like Elizabeth with medical things, so I honestly had no idea.

It wasn't until I realized that I was being prodded by someone's foot that it hadn't been my brain going crazy.

"Hello there." whispered an unfamiliar voice in my ear, "Muggle scum."

I was now panicking internally, also regretful that I didn't have any pepper spray, even though I probably wouldn't have been able to use it anyway.

The man, who I later learned was a wizard, then began to explain what he was going to do to me, just for being non-magical. In graphic detail. I must confess that I didn't expect to get out of that one.

Fred saved me, of course. But not after I had been put under the Cruciatus Curse. I don't normally remember the names of spells - mainly because they're complicated a lot of the time, and I don't have any use for them. But I'll always remember that one. It was the worst pain I've experienced in my life.

I blacked out the third time the curse was cast on me, unable to take the pain. I just wanted to die. Die and feel nothing.

When I came to the man was gone, and I was looking at Fred's worried face. "Rachel. Rachel." He kept saying, "I'm so sorry."

I shook my throbbing head. "What- what happened?"

He helped me up off the ground. "Let's go to your flat, we need to talk."

It was that night that I learned about magic, and the wizarding world. How there were wizards, bad wizards, who hated Muggles (people like me) so much that they would do things like that. That there was a terrible Dark Lord or You-Know-Who, who had recently come back. It came as a shock, but after that night I was almost willing to believe anything.

"So, can you use magic for other things?" I asked him, when he was done talking. We were sitting around my small kitchen table. I think it was at least one o' clock in the morning when he finished explaining. "Like, are there spells you can use to, say, make your bed?"

Fred smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, but I'm not very good at those. My mum is though."

I thought of something else, "So, wait. When you told me that you and George had a magic shop... you mean, it's real magic?"

He was grinning full-on now, "Yes. I can show you it sometime, now."

I smiled. "I'd like that."

He stayed the night that night. We didn't do anything, I just didn't feel safe by myself (Elizabeth was staying over at her new boyfriend's house, a handsome Doctor named Dave who was seven years older than her and completely wrapped around her finger). I watched incredulously as Fred shot something silver out of his wand (a way of communicating in the Order that he was in) to tell George that he'd be back in the morning.

I said he could sleep in Elizabeth's room since she wasn't there. I watched as he conjured himself new sheets and everything for the bed. I wanted to ask him to do more magic, but I refrained, feeling childish.

Before I went to my own bedroom, he said, "Rachel? One more thing."

When I turned around to ask what he wanted, he kissed me.

That was the first of many, I might say. And they were all amazing.

The next morning he walked me to work, and left me with a few words of warning. "Be careful, Rach." he said, "There are bad things happening, so could you make sure you're not alone when you go out of the house? And try not to go out at night."

I sighed, but agreed. "Okay."

I didn't see him for two weeks after that.

When Fred returned, I found him waiting for me at my door when I was going to walk myself to work that morning.

"What do you want?" I said, unable to contain my irritation.

"Listen, Rachel." he started, "I know I acted like a complete git, but there was an emergency-"

"And you couldn't have called me!" I said, my voice getting shriller. I then realized that he didn't use a telephone. "You couldn't have... sent me a message to tell me where you were? I was worried, Fred! I thought- I thought-"

"Everything's okay." he said, now reacting to me throwing myself in his arms, "Well, not really, but we're all alive right now, right?"

"What happened?" I said, looking at him.

He smiled, and explained that the Ministry of Magic had finally acknowledged that He Who Must Not Be Named had come back. Plus the whole ordeal at the ministry that many of his friends and family had been through a few days ago.

Also about Sirius Black, the man that even made it onto our news for a crime that he didn't commit.

Our relationship went to normal after that. Except this time he could freely use magic around me if I was the only one around.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey! Thanks for reading the first chapter of my fanfiction. If there are any major errors that I've made, please tell me, because I always welcome constructive criticism! ;) Also, if this first chapter seems rushed, it's because I'm trying to set up background information before I get into the actual story! So hang in there please!<strong>

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! **


	2. Chapter 2

I looked around, trying not to seem too excited, but it was hard with all of the colorful magical items and potions around. I stopped worrying about my expression as much when I noticed that everyone else in the store had a similar one.

"So, do you like it?" Fred asked me, appearing at my side.

"It's magnificent." I beamed at him. "Better than anything I could imagine."

It was late June now, and after my insistence Fred had finally decided to show me his and George's joke shop. However, he insisted on "apparating" me directly in, so not to face the creeps outside. Apparently things were getting worse, and it the safety for people who were "Muggleborn", much less Muggles themselves, was beginning become worse and worse.

Apparating was awful. It felt like I was been pressed through a wall, and expected to come through the other side. When it was finally over, I gasped, "What _was_ that!"

Fred grinned at me, "Was it really that bad?"

"Yes!"

Since he had some business to take care of, Fred told me to have a look around. It was then that I discovered all of the interesting magical jokes that you can come up with. I realized that being a wizard actually gave you an advantage in the area of magic tricks, and wished my father could see.

"C'mon," Fred took my hand and led me to a small area where the items were a bit dimmer, and unmoving - that was another thing I couldn't get over, how all of the wizard pictures moved.

It wasn't until I studied a familiar card trick that I realized what they were.

"Normal- er, Muggle magic tricks?"

"I got them because of you." He smiled, "When you told me about the ones you and your dad bought. Some of them are actually quite clever, and wizards like to buy them for novelty."

"They're wonderful." I said.

"Hey Rach." George greeted, "I see you've found the Muggle section."

"I did." I replied, "It's great, I can't believe you did that!"

I stayed in the shop for awhile, watching as Fred and George and a few of their other employees (one of them a pretty girl- I tried not to act jealous when I saw her beaming at Fred) conducted business. It was fairly crowded in the joke shop - since it was new, a lot of witches and wizards wanted to see it. I tried to stay out of the way of the customers, choosing to stay near the back, but I still attracted some attention.

"C'mon." Fred said after a few hours, taking my hand. "Let's go for a walk."

We walked along a well-lit street in London (he had disapparated me out of the shop, which was equally as unpleasant as the first time), chatting.

"Thank you for taking me." I smiled at him before I went into my flat, "I had fun."

"You really liked it?"

"Of course!" I said, "It was ten times better than the ones I use to go to as a kid."

He kissed me goodbye, and made sure I was safely inside before disappearing into the night.

* * *

><p>"So when are you going to introduce us to your new boyfriend?" Violet, my coworker asked suggestively a few days later.<p>

I smile despite myself, "Oh, I dunno. He's very busy with his business..."

"Oh c'mon Rach! You're killing me!" Violet put her hand to her heart.

"Why do you want to know so much, Vi?" I teased.

"Because you're my friend, it's what we do." She smirked before leaving with a few orders.

"I'd like to meet him too." Amanda said from behind me. She was busy fixing different espresso drinks while she talked. "We could go out together sometime."

I sighed. "Well, I suppose I can ask him."

And that is how Fred and I ended up going out to eat with my nosy co-workers.

"I'm so sorry about this." I told him when he came to pick me up. Fred was dressed normally today - normally for Muggles, anyway, in jeans and an acceptable shirt.

"I'm not." He grinned, "I've been wanting to meet your friends properly. Nice dress, by the way."

"Thanks." I was wearing a dress that Elizabeth had gotten me, not too dressy, but nice.

He let me put my arm through his, like a gentleman, and we strolled to the small bar that we were supposed to meet them at.

"Oi, Rachel!" Violet waved us over to where they were inside. "This is my date, Lloyd." She indicated a tall, bland male beside her.

Amanda was there with her fiance Andrew, a nice man with dark hair that was perfect for Amanda. "You must be Fred!" She said, "Nice to meet you finally!"

"The pleasure is all mine." Fred said, and winked at me.

"So," Violet said, "Where is this mysterious place that you work? Rachel doesn't give us many details."

"I own a joke shop with my brother..."

We spent the rest of the night drinking and chatting with everyone. I made sure that Fred ordered something that he would be able to stomach and not spit all over my friends (that had already happened enough). It was fun, and I was happy that Fred was willing to meet them.

* * *

><p>It all went perfectly for awhile there. I saw Fred regularly, we went out with my friends sometimes, and it was nice. Sometimes George would come too, and Violet would invite one of her friends from university to come too - that was always fun to watch.<p>

We fell into a routine with this, going out about every two weeks, Fred walking me to work almost every morning, and walking me back at night. During that time, the nights seemed darker, and it was misty and I wasn't quite sure why. If I had been alone, I probably would have felt the full effect. But I wasn't alone, I had Fred, and I was extremely grateful for that.

The gratefulness increased, the day that Elizabeth told me she would be moving out, and moving in with her new fiance (remember Dave?) who actually had a house in Scotland.

Being a melodramatic person (I assure you that I'm working on fixing that, but sometime it just comes out involuntarily), I immediately felt a sense of abandonment and accused her of leaving me forever.

"Oh, don't be that way Rach." Elizabeth said, and hugged me. "You know I'll come visit as much as I can. I just... I love him. I've never felt this way about anyone."

I nodded, but still felt a little abandoned. "I'll miss you." I said.

"I'll miss you too." She said, and squeezed my hand. She was gorgeous, with a beautiful personality to match. No wonder Dave loved her. Hell, everyone loved Elizabeth.

She left a week and a half later, planning to meet Dave in Scotland. I got to keep the furniture in our flat, Elizabeth had no need for it, since Dave had his own furniture. She did, however, take all of her clothes and personal belongings. She said I could hold on to Mom's old things, they were still in boxes in the back of our closets, there because we couldn't look at them or give them away.

I helped her pack up everything she needed in boxes, so we could ship them to her new house. I even took off a few days of work to help with it, since it seemed like she had accumulated so many things. For a little while, it was almost like old times, before she started going to school to be a nurse, and I stopped seeing her so much. Like when I was still in high school, and we ate together almost every night as a family. It was just us at the time, but we didn't care.

When the cab came to take her to the airport, it was hard for me to believe that she would actually be leaving for awhile. I hugged her goodbye, surprised at how I wasn't doing something silly like crying. In fact, I felt okay.

"I'll be call you when I get there, okay?" She said before she left, and gave me a quick hug.

"Okay." I replied, "Have a safe trip."

I watched the cab drive away, until it disappeared down the road.

I was alone that night. The house felt empty, but I still hadn't quite grasped that Liz wouldn't be returning. I ate leftovers, and switched on the television. I thought about Fred a bit. I hadn't seen him for a couple of days since he had been busy with family and work, and I hadn't basically been spending all my time inside with Elizabeth. After about an hour, I turned the news that I had been watching halfheartedly off, and went to bed.

Somehow, I ended up in her room. Liz's, I mean. I guess I couldn't help myself. The bed was stripped of the sheets - they had been stored in the back of her closet just in case I had guests - making the room seem even more bare. A few photographs remained on the side table. Pictures of us, and our parents. When I open a dresser drawer I find a necklace that I had given her a couple of years back. All left behind now.

The tears escape, even though I know that she probably didn't mean to leave the few traces of our life together behind. I leave the necklace, but I take the picture of my family and put it in my room. Then I try and sleep, try being the key word.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hello everyone! Thank you for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter okay, and please tell me what you think! Also, if there's any inconsistency with the Harry Potter plot (not that I've really gotten into it yet), please tell me! And I accept constructive criticism. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey." Fred said the next morning, greeting me at my door, "Er... what happened to you?"

Due to hysterically crying for a few hours the night before, and then having terrible insomnia, I ended up only getting two hours of sleep. I also managed to sleep in, and wake up ten minutes before I was supposed to head to work. Needless to say, when my boyfriend found me the next morning, I looked like hell.

"Come in." I said, grumpy from lack of sleep, "I'm not ready to go yet."

Fred walked inside, and followed me into my bathroom where I began to brush my hair up into a sort of messy bun, since it was definitely sticking out awkwardly in places. "Rough night?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered, and walked into the other room where I grabbed my purse. "Elizabeth left yesterday."

Fred had been fairly sympathetic about my sister moving away, but since he also had been busy himself, we hadn't had much time together as of late. "She'll be okay." He said, misinterpreting my feelings of abandonment for worry. "Daryl seems like a nice guy."

"It's Dave." I snapped, and then immediately regretted it. "Sorry," I said. "I'm just having an off day. You can come over after I get off from work if you want?"

"I'd like that." He said, and took my hand.

While he walked me to my job, Fred told me what was going on. He often vented to me about his family - especially how much of a prat his brother Percy was - and things that were going on with him. I did the same thing to him, of course. Now that the whole "I'm a wizard" secret was out, we were extremely open with one another.

"Another thing." He told me when we stopped outside the cafe door, "How would you like to meet my family sometime?"

Meet his family? I thought about it. I remembered that Elizabeth told me that meeting the family was a very important step in relationships like this - one that shouldn't be screwed up for fear of being shunned for the rest of your life if you end up marrying the person whose family it is.

"Okay." I said, because really, how bad could it be?

"I'll see you at six." He winked.

I walked into work, my stomach suddenly sinking. I was going to meet my magical boyfriend's family. What if they didn't like me? I wasn't part of their world, what if I said something completely idiotic and didn't realize it?

"What's wrong with you?" Amanda asked me when I stepped into the kitchen. Ever since Fred began walking me to work, I had been considerably less late. Needless to say, Amanda greatly approved of Fred, especially since he and George had been going out with us sometimes.

"I'm meeting Fred's family." I said.

Lydia, who had just walked in, nodded, "Meeting the family, I see you're getting serious." She winked. Lydia was our boss, and twenty-nine. She was extremely protective of all of her employees, almost like a second mum. "I remember when Andy and I met each others families." She cringed a little, "It's a wonder we're married today." Andy was her husband, they had been married since they were twenty-two. It was rather cute, actually.

I sigh, and put on my uniform (the same apron and name tag), and get to work.

* * *

><p>When Fred picked me up, we walked to my flat and then I ordered take-out. While we were waiting for our food to arrive, he said, "So, how about next weekend?"<p>

"Next weekend what?" I answered.

"For meeting my family." Fred said.

It was August now, and we had been dating for three months now. I had thought about it all day and decided that it was probably better to get the meeting the family over with, just in case they really did hate me. Maybe I would have a chance to redeem myself in the future if everything didn't go over well at the first meeting.

"I would love to." I said.

We spent the rest of the evening watching television - although Fred mostly just questioned me about Muggle things, and I, in turn with things having to do with magic, and eating on my couch.

* * *

><p>The next weekend, I find myself in front of an eccentric-looking house, that was tilted slightly and looked as though magic was the only thing holding together some parts of it.<p>

I loved it instantly.

I could tell Fred was a little nervous, he fidgeted a bit and said, "So... what do you think?"

"It's nice." I told him earnestly.

He smiled, and took my hand. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

We were greeted at the door by Fred and George's mum. "Oh, you must be Rachel!" She beamed, "Come in, dear."

"She's never this nice to us." Fred murmured to me, so Mrs. Weasley couldn't hear, but I assumed that was because of the twin's history of trouble-making.

We walked into the living room, where another man with red hair was sitting with a very pretty blond girl. "Bill," Fred said, "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Rachel."

The man stood up, and walked towards us grinning. "So you're this mysterious girl we've been hearing about. I'm Bill, by the way." He held out his hand, and I shook it. I liked Bill automatically, and wondered if all of the Weasleys were this friendly. "And this is my fiancee, Fleur." He indicated to the blond girl.

"Pleasure." She smiled at me.

George arrived after that, and we all moved into the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley made us tea, and we sat around the table and talked.

"I don't think I've ever talked to a Muggle like this before." Bill admitted, "Is it strange to suddenly be introduced to magic?"

"You have no idea." I said wryly, and eyed Fred. Although learning about magic had been great, I had recently stumbled upon a few of Fred and George's more violent pranks.

The Nosebleed Nougats in particular.

After about half and hour, the door opened, and another redheaded boy who looked at least a year younger than me walked in, followed by another girl with red hair, a boy with black hair and glasses, and a girl with bushy brown hair.

"This is my son Ron." Mrs. Weasley said when they came in, indicating the first boy, "And this is Ginny, Harry, and Hermione."

"Nice to meet you." I said.

"You're Fred's Muggle friend!" the one named Ron blurted. I noticed that he got a sharp look from Mrs. Weasley as well as the bushy-haired girl.

"Er, yeah." I shrugged, trying to sound like I talked to wizards like this everyday and failing miserably.

I talked to the others briefly, Harry and Hermione turned out to be Ron's friends who were visiting for the summer - they were as pleasant as the Weasleys.

I got along with Ginny the best, however. I ended up staying for supper, and she sat beside me (Fred being on my other side) and told me stories about Fred and George from when they were kids. A lot of it didn't surprise me, but still had me laughing.

It wasn't until I asked Harry how he got his scar that I realized that I had said something wrong.

The people around us went quiet (Harry was right across from me), and I felt my stomach sink. It really was an interesting-looking scar, and in my world scars were nothing more than a remembrance of an accident.

"I'm sorry." I said immediately, "I didn't know-"

"Rach." Fred said, "It's okay."

Harry was staring at his food, seemingly deep in thought. I remember worrying that there was some sort of traumatic event associated with it that I had just brought up, and if it would give him flashbacks or something. To my relief, he recovered after a few minutes, and everything went back to normal.

"Come back soon, dear." Mrs. Weasley said to me warmly before we left.

"Thanks." I beamed. Despite my worries, Fred's family had been extremely nice. I had felt like maybe I could belong if things got more serious between Fred and me (and I had a feeling they were about to).

Once we were back at my flat, Fred explained to me about Harry Potter and his scar, and how he defeated You-Know-Who as a baby.

"He's famous, you know." Fred told me, "Everyone in the wizarding world knows his name."

Whoever he was, Harry Potter would soon be a hero, and I had met him without realizing it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So as you may have noticed, I did change the storyline a bit, but that's what fanfiction's for right? I really don't want to change anything huge, but I really thought that Rachel should meet the Weasleys before everything kind of messes up in Deathly Hallows.

Please tell me what you think, and thank you so much for the reviews! They're awesome! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **


	4. Chapter 4

"Rach? Rach, is that you?" Elizabeth's frantic voice came through loudly on the phone.

"Yeah, Liz." I yawned, "What's going on? It's four in the morning."

I was surprised to get a call from my sister this early - especially since it was still dark outside and she liked to sleep in. Needless to say, I was pretty grumpy.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She said, her voice cracking a little, "I was so worried."

"_What are you talking about?_" I pressed.

"You didn't see? It's all over the news!"

"No!" I answered, my patience wavering. I had never quite gotten over the fact that she had left me, even though I knew she was happier now. I was so selfish.

She took a deep breath from the other side of the phone, clearly keeping herself from going into full hysterics. "Dave saw something on the news- the neighborhood where your job is has been attacked!" There was a voice in the background, probably Dave. "I'm on the phone with her right now!" Elizabeth called back, and then said to me. "The media thinks it's been some sort of gang-related violence, but I'm pretty skeptical about that. That's a safe neighborhood, you know!"

What Elizabeth had told me hadn't even registered in my mind. "Wait... but we're all okay, right?" I asked groggily, still not quite awake. "Nothing really... happened?"

"Oh, Rach." Elizabeth said, "They said there's been a lot of damage, but it's fairly new, so there's nothing for sure about it yet."

"Listen, Liz." I said. "I'm going back to bed. I'll call you in the morning when I figure things out."

I hung up the phone, despite her protests. I really hated being woken up early.

It wasn't until I slipped back into my warm bed that I received another phone call. After contemplating for a few seconds whether to even answer it or not, I finally picked up the phone to find-

"Rachel!" A familiar voice wailed, for some reason I was having problems putting a face to a name that morning.

"Who's there?" I answered unhelpfully.

"Lydia!" The voice answered shrilly. Lydia was my boss, the owner of our cafe and the place where I had been working since I was sixteen. "Rach, you're the only one who I could get to answer the phone this early. I've just gotten news from the police that the restaurant has been destroyed." That last bit came out slightly muffled.

My stomach sank. I had been hoping that the call from Elizabeth had been just her overreacting.

"What do you mean?" I said quietly.

"I mean something happened - some terrorist or gang-related thing happened and completely blew it up!" I could tell that she was on the verge of hysteria. Her words were almost incoherent.

"Lydia, where are you right now?" I said, hoping her husband was nearby.

"At the cafe." She said weakly. "The police are here as well."

"Okay. Stay there, I'm on my way over."

Abandoning any hopes of getting a good night's sleep, I quickly pulled on some clothes from the floor of my closet, and stepped outside. Making my way to the cafe, I found myself hoping that it was all just some crazy nightmare I was having - that everything would be okay.

I was so preoccupied that I completely forgot Fred requesting me not to leave the house without his protection. Thankfully, I made it to the shop okay.

What I saw completely shocked me.

It was hard to see in the dark, but a few streetlamps lent enough light to get a gist of what had happened. The small line of shops where my work had been located looked like it had been blown up. What was left of the poor cafe was a pile of rubble. A few pieces of something smoldered against the debris, looking like cinders in a long abandoned bonfire.

I was met by Lydia and Amanda - Violet must have still been sleeping. Lydia was openly sobbing. The tiny restaurant had been like her baby, the first step to her dream of being a pastry chef. I felt numb.

"They say it was a freak accident." Amanda said, her arm still around Lydia. Lydia's husband Andy was nearby, still talking to the police.

"That's bollocks." I said, under my breath.

Lydia's sobs died down as it got lighter outside. I noticed the media gradually beginning to appear and attempt to interview us. While Amanda and I opted out of it, Lydia did one interview to a local news station.

Violet appeared an hour later, and we had to explain what had happened.

I remember feeling at a loss of what to do that day. Amanda and I made sure Lydia had gotten home safely (Andy had stayed behind to take care of things - his wife was too devastated), and then parted ways there.

"Please call the others, won't you?" Lydia said to Amanda before we left, meaning the few other employees that worked with us. "I don't want them turning up when there's nothing left."

I returned back to my flat, still feeling numb. I couldn't help thinking, now what? That one thought revolved in my head repeatedly, until it consumed me.

To my astonishment, I met Fred on the way back.

"Hey." He said, suddenly at my side. It was hard, at first, to get used to him always appearing and disappearing when we first started dating, but I had gotten used to it. Well, some of the time. "I heard about what happened."

After everything that had happened, I still felt a mixture of emotions: despair over losing my job (at least until it was rebuilt- if it could be rebuilt that is), pity for Lydia, whose dream had just gone up in flames (literally), and worry. What was I going to do now?

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Dunno. I didn't get much sleep last night." The emotions that had felt overwhelming at first were now starting to disappear, replaced by numbness.

He took my hand in his. It felt warm and reassuring. "C'mon, I'll walk you home."

I allowed him to lead me to my flat, and when we reached the doorway I surprised myself by saying, "Do you want to come inside?"

His eyes widened a little, but he nodded, and came inside.

Exhausted, I made us some tea, and then we sat at the dingy kitchen table. I remember suddenly realizing how tired I was, my eyes could barely stay open, and Fred's voice as he was talking to me became unintelligible. Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I was in my bedroom. For a few minutes, I just stared at the daylight streaming through the lace curtains on the window. <em>Pretty, <em>I thought vaguely.

"You're awake." A voice said, startling me. I looked up and saw Fred sitting in an unfamiliar chair (he must have conjured it up) reading a book.

Memories of what had happened that day flooded into my head, and I sat up quickly. "What time is it?" I said, "What-"

"It's five o' clock." Fred said, looking amused. He closed the book, after folding one of the pages as a bookmark. "I brought you home and you fell asleep while I was talking to you at the table."

"Five o' clock." I repeated. I had slept the whole day away. "Wait," I said, "Does that mean you've been here all day too?"

"Yep." Fred grinned. "George can handle the shop for one day. Besides, I wanted to make sure you're okay."

I sighed at the mention of the poor cafe where I was employed.

"It couldn't have been a freak accident." He continued, "Your work, I mean. What with everything going on. I talked to Dad and he said that it was most likely the work of dark wizards."

I blanched. "Dark wizards? But they don't... they don't care about muggles, do they?"

His expression was sad. "It's not safe for anyone anymore. That's why I asked you to let me walk you to work, just in case."

I nodded, feeling distressed, even though I wasn't really surprised.

Fred stood up and came to sit at the side of my bed; his hand lightly brushed mine, and he smiled. He was close enough that I could count the freckles on his face, and see the tiny bit of gold in his brown eyes. "I'm glad I met you." he said softly, still playing with my hand.

I leaned forward and kissed him. His lips were soft, and he kissed me gently and then pulled back, grinning now. "If I knew you were going to do that I would have said it sooner."

"I've never met anyone like you, Fred Weasley." I answered, half exasperated, the other half feeling like I was floating.

He kissed me this time, gently at first, but becoming more intense. As we kissed, he pushed me back on to the pillows, so that he was on top of me, kissing even fiercer. Somehow, his shirt was off and the buttons on my blouse were undone, and we were snogging heatedly.

We kissed for awhile, until the sun went down. After all that time I had spent worrying and stressing out that day, it was a nice thing to do to get my mind off things, in addition to the fact that I really enjoyed it. I can't say how far we would have gone, only that it was interrupted by my phone ringing.

"Ignore it." Fred muttered against my lips. I seriously considered it, and then groaned and disengaged myself.

"I can't." I sighed, "It might be Lydia, or worse, Elizabeth."

Fred's eyes followed me as I reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello Rachel, is my dear brother there?" A voice sounding identical to Fred's came through the phone - George.

"Yes, he's right here." I said, and then held the phone out to Fred. "It's for you."

It took a minute to explain to Fred how to actually talk into the telephone - really, for someone who was capable of conjuring up objects it was almost comical how inept with technology Fred was - but he got the hang of it and was soon conversing with George.

"No, I had Verity put them on the shelves by the door." Fred said, answering something George said, "She must have misplaced them then-"

Sighing, I started to re-button my blouse. I figured that Fred would have to go soon, and then I would have to return to reality. Like start thinking about what I was supposed to do for a job.

I waited patiently for Fred to finish his conversation, and then had to help him hang up when he was done talking to George.

"How in the world did he learn to use a telephone like that?" I wondered out loud.

Fred shrugged, "He always did better in Muggle Studies than I did, I was too busy-" he broke off. "You've been sleeping all day, you must be starving. C'mon, I'll buy you dinner."

"You have a class about Muggles?" I asked, in my curiosity forgetting that he had suddenly changed the subject.

He smiled, "Yep. And it didn't bloody well help anything. I still don't understand how you use that eklectic stuff."

"You mean electric." I corrected automatically. He took my hand, and I accepted it, letting him lead me into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. It sort of went out of control at the end haha, but oh well! I'm pretty happy with how it's going so far! Thank you so much for the reviews, they're awesome! Please review, and I will be so happy and grateful! :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.


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